Hot 100: Tim Ross, Kelway

Tim Ross (scroll down for video interview) had no small task when he became Kelway’s first-ever lawyer in 2010.

Since his hire the technology company has increased annual revenue from £178m to £350m, with roughly 50 per cent of that growth coming from M&A.

In the past 12 months alone Ross has helped the company launch its own suite of cloud services, open a new services centre in Peterborough, an office in Singapore and acquire Irish company Business & Scientific Services, a Microsoft large account reseller which Ross helped split into two arms. The former DMH Stallard lawyer says the acquisition of the latter, which was completed in just three weeks, was one of his highlights of 2012, as was thecloud services proposition and Peterborough launch.

A significant part of his role has been commercial, with Ross involved in management decisions and the general running of the fast-growing IT business, which was founded in 1990.

“Lawyers can provide a check and balance in an entrepreneurial environment,” he says.